What to feed a newborn puppy who won't nurse from mother?

Question

I have recently had 3 new additions to my family. My boston terrier had an emergency c-section on 6/6/06 to a litter of 3. One puppy was caught in the birth canal for almost 1 hour. He has a hematoma on his head and is starting to go away; however, he is very tiny and seems to not or can't latch on to the mother's nipple. He is very limp and all he does is lay there. I have been working with him everyday keeping him warm and trying to nurse. Sometimes he gets it, but for the most part he doesn't. I think being that he hasn't eaten properly since he has been born, this is why he is so weak. I have already contacted the veterinarian. She told me to make sure I keep him warm and to work with him. Being that he was stuck in the birth canal for so long, I feel that he has several things wrong with him. I want to save him very badly. I was wondering if regular baby formula would supplement the milk from the mother? I know there is puppy formula but I can't afford it right now.

I did get my boston spayed while she was under for her c-section. She was suppose to be spayed on April 17th but my male puggle got to her. We did everything trying to keep them apart. Very unexpected.

Is there anything that I can use that I may already have in my home? It is 3am right now and it will be difficult for me to find a store open. I have 2% milk and eggs. Would these help if I mix together and warm it up?

Thank you all for answering my question. All of these answers were very helpful. I will do my best. I just got done expressing the mothers nipple and the puppy would lick the milk. I am going to do something about this first thing in the morning. Thanks again everyone!!!!!!! Very greatful

Answer 1

Hello. You can get canned GOATS MILK from your local WalMart or Food World grocery store. Make sure you mix it can of milk to a can of sterile water. Make sure you use an eyedropper to start off feeding being that your puppy is so weak. Stimulation is really good for circulation & keeping warm is a both a must. Canned GOATS MILK does not cause diareah & is readily digested. It's usually around $3.00 per can. Make sure you keep all unused milk refrigerated. Warm up a small amount you will be feeding your pup but testing to make sure it's not overheated & burn the pups mouth etc. Here is a home recipe if you have the ingredients,.....1 8oz can evaporated milk, 2 egg yolks, 8oz plain yogurt, 8oz distilled water, whip water, egg yolks together, add milk & yogurt. 1cc per 1oz body weight every 4 hours. Human baby formula is not suitable for cats/dogs. It doesn't have the proper nutrients they need. I hope your little one makes out fine. Best wishes!!

Answer 2

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You ask what a vet can do with a newborn puppy - well for starters, he can check them out and make sure there are no deformities which may account for what's going on. Once a puppy becomes morbidly chilled, it won't suckle, so right now it's vital that this doesn't happen - there should be a heat lamp over the litter, to keep the ambient temperature around at least 80F. Put a thermometer in the bottom of the box and check it. It's possible to keep newborn puppies going on a diluted glucose and water solution (yogurt and water? - not something I'd try with newborns to be honest), but you need to make sure there isn't something physically not right with these two, which sounds possible. Difficult one if she's being aggressive with you which again is sort-of understandable if this is new to her, and you've not had her for long. I think, once your vet has given them the okay, you are looking at bottling, or tube-feeding them, using b itch replacer milk (from the vet! - it would have been a good idea to have some in prior to the whelping, just in case and especially as this was an unknown situation). There's little point risking putting them on mum if she's not accepting them, and going for you too! Do you know that mum has finished whelping - again has she been in for a shot to clear her out. If one pup was much bigger, she may have been caught by a bigger male, and have others in there that haven't been able to be born naturally = may be dead. Please take them all to your vet asap. If you are an experienced breeder, you should have been there already!! Nobody on here, experienced breeder or not, can do anything other than guess about what's going on tbh. Add - What mcc suggests about these two much smaller puppies being the result of a later mating (perhaps from another dog even?) could be worth considering and if so, even more taking them out of the nest and hand-rearing them may just work.

Answer 3

Hi,

In answer to your question, What to feed a newborn puppy who won't nurse from mother?, I tell you that take a look at this site http://asknursingonline.com may be it can help you

As you described; "I have recently had 3 new additions to my family. My boston terrier had an emergency c-section on 6/6/06 to a litter of 3. One puppy was caught in the birth canal for almost 1 hour. He has a hematoma on his head and is starting to go away; however, he is very tiny and seems to not or can't latch on to the mother's nipple. He is very limp and all he does is lay there. I have been working with him everyday keeping him warm and trying to nurse. Sometimes he gets it, but for the most part he doesn't. I think being that he hasn't eaten properly since he has been born, this is why he is so weak. I have already contacted the veterinarian. She told me to make sure I keep him warm and to work with him. Being that he was stuck in the birth canal for so long, I feel that he has several things wrong with him. I want to save him very badly. I was wondering if regular baby formula would supplement the milk from the mother? I know there is puppy formula but I can't afford it right now." I hope it might help you.

All the Best :)

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
What to feed a newborn puppy who won't nurse from mother?
I have recently had 3 new additions to my family. My boston terrier had an emergency c-section on 6/6/06 to a litter of 3. One puppy was caught in the birth canal for almost 1 hour. He has a hematoma on his head and is starting to go away; however, he is very tiny and seems to not or can't...

Answer 5

Oh, no! I am so sorry you are having this trouble. I also breed Boston terriers, so this one really hits home for me. I am no expert, but I do know that human baby formula is generally not rich enough for puppies. My husband has been breeding dogs for a longer period of time than I have, and he has always suggested goat milk or something of that nature, though I have never needed to use it myself.

Even with the puppy formula, there is a chance that he won't take to a synthetic nipple, so you might end up tube-feeding him if you take that route. Not a fun thing to do, as you can just as easily harm him as help him. The best thing you can do for him is keep trying to attach him to that nipple. If you wet it for him by extracting a little milk out of it, he may find it easier to latch on.

In my litter last summer, I did have a runt that required supplemental feedings. She didn't like the bottle, so I had to use an eye-dropper with puppy formula. If all else fails, get him on that nipple as much as you can, and feed him small doses of human formula in between. He can't live off of it, but it may just give him a little extra strength to get more food from Mom. Just don't overdo. His tummy is very small.

I feel for you, and best of luck to you and the little baby!



EDIT: I've been listening in on the discussion, and I do agree with others that with what you have, you are pretty much stuck with trying to get him through the night on warmed milk and increased efforts to get him to nurse. And all of the other advice has been wonderful as well. You are going to have to get him on formula or goat milk first thing. Puppy formula is not much more expensive than human formula. Only a couple of dollars more. I get mine at my local farm supply store.

I see you've been asking about this puppy for several days now...

Answer 6

Ya I would try the warm milk for tonight but u definately need to get some formula as soon as u can and then some puppy formula. Did u try to get puppy formula from a store not your vet? It would probally be cheaper from some place like walmart.
Also try unwarming him a little before feeding being all snuggly warm may make him too sleepy to nurse.

You will probally notice a big difference in the nursing once u get some food in the puppy, once they get dehydrated they can lose the strenght to eat and then it's a hard cycle to break. I'm very surprised that your vet sent this puppy home in this condition? And hasn't told u to bring him in so he can be rehydrated or tube fed.

Maybe you need a different vet who regardless of your finacial state right now is more interested in saving the puppy first and worrying about the bills later?

Wish you luck

Answer 7

Newborn Puppy Won T Nurse

Answer 8

The owner of the dog needs to know how to "operate" the dog, same way you can get into a car that's in perfect running order but if you don't know how to drive you won't have much luck making the car go anywhere. If the owner doesn't know how to maintain the training, the dog will soon become untrained again. Read more here https://tinyurl.im/5B6ZT

People seem to think that once a dog is trained, that's it. Not true. You must reinforce the dog's training every single day in some way. It's best if the owner and the dog go together to get trained. As a professional trainer once said to me "We can train any dog in 2 days. It takes longer to train the owners

Answer 9

Locate the nearest feed store or pet supply store. Do not under any circumstances feed him human baby formula. They make a powdered puppy milk formula especially just for this kind of circumstances, just like they do for kittens. You will also at the same place be able to get a bottle especially made for puppies and kittens. These bottles are made of plyable plastic, allowing you to feed puppy one drop at a time if it is having trouble sucking, until it gets stronger. Don't forget that at this age, you will have to try to feed it every couple of hours to make sure it is getting enough nutrition until it gets stronger, and eyes open at aboutn 2-3 weeks of age.

Answer 10

I agree with almost everything everyone said, although the puppy formula is best. Also do you have any nutri-cal vitamins? That can sure help weak pups. I also wonder about a drop of honey or lick of peanut butter for some strength. Peanut has proteins also. May help give them a boost. Keep up the TLC. We are all thinking of you with you struggle to save this little one! Let us know how he gets..